Never forget your dreams!
by Neutralpenguin
Summary: Meet Taylor, Talia, Seoyoung, and Roxy. They all have different dreams but their destinies were linked together by one mystical... Snowman. Follow them as they travel the world to find amazing treasures, stories, a few scary people, and... Slight depression? Who knows were they'll go or whom they'll meet as they fulfill their hopes and dreams in the wonderful world of One Piece!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece only my OCs. Do you think I would be writing fan fiction if I did?**

Prologue

_On a small island in the north blue~_

A little girl with light brown hair was running down the icy street, bumping into people as she went. Once outside of town she then ran into a thick snow covered forest. After a few minutes of weaving through the trees she tripped over a root into a clearing. "Ouch that really hurt…" the girl muttered to herself. Standing and dusting herself off, she walked over to a tree stump in the middle of the clearing, brushed the snow off, and sat down.

'_When are they going to be here? I thought they would be here sooner… Maybe they got lost? No they've been here before there's no way they'd get lost_.' The girl thought impatiently. She was just about to leave when she heard a shriek. Grinning, she watched as another girl about her age came tripping into the clearing. "Ha! You're clumsier than I thought!" a third girl laughed, jumping over the tree root her two friends had fallen over. "Hey Taylor what's up?"

"Nothing much… Uh is Talia ok? I mean she hasn't moved since she fell." Pausing in her laughter she looked down at her friend, who was still lying in the snow. "Uh maybe you need help up Talia?"

"Yeah..."Came the muffled reply. Her grin back, she helped her friend to her feet. "Thanks Seoyoung, but you're so mean! Why did you laugh at me when I fell?"

"It was funny." The girl name Seoyoung snickered. She was average height for her age and had short, straight dark brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin. She was wearing a light pink hoodie, jeans, and brown boots. "Yeah it was pretty funny." The second girl, Taylor, agreed. She was short, had light brown, shoulder length hair, grey-blue eyes, and pale skin with a few freckles. She was wearing a long light blue coat that reached the knees, black pants, and blue rubber rain boots. "You guys are so mean! I wouldn't laugh at you if you tripped." The third girl, Talia, exclaimed. She was the youngest in their little group, yet (sadly) taller than Taylor. She had blonde hair, a smiling face, and blue eyes. She was wearing a dark blue dress, slack tights, brown boots, and a white wool cardigan. "Hey Talia if it makes you feel any better I tripped over it too. It did hurt a little." Taylor said rubbing her still red nose slightly.

"The only reason I didn't trip over it was because I saw you do it first." Seoyoung added (though she still had a grin on her face). "By the way where's Roxy? She was supposed to meet us here too right?" Seoyoung asked turning to Taylor. "Yeah she was. I don't know where she is though I haven't seen her all day. I talked to her yesterday and told her where to meet us, but after that she's been busy."

"That's odd. I hope she's ok." Talia said a worried expression on her face. Taylor patted her on the head ruffling her hair a little bit. "Hey!" Talia muttered, trying to fix it. Taylor laughed flashing a thumbs up. "I'm sure she's fine. Believe it or not she can take care of herself. Her punches really hurt and she has good common sense." Talia laughed but still looked worried. Seoyoung patted her on the shoulder. "Cheer up I'm sure she'll be here in a little while." Seoyoung pinched her on the arm. "Ouch that hurt!"

"What? How the heck did that hurt? I barely even pinched you!"

"Well how would you like it if I pinched you?"

"Ha! I'd like to see you try."

Taylor laughed at her friends antics. 'What can I do while I wait for Roxy… Oh I know! I'll build a snowman!' whistling a tune she began to make a little snowman. After a few minutes of fighting they both looked up (Taylor was busy trying to get the head on straight) to see a very irritated Roxy stomping towards them. "Roxy? What's wrong? Did those bullies chase you again? If so then we got your back." Seoyoung cracked her knuckles for emphases. "No it wasn't the bullies again. I taught them their lesion last week. My mom's what's wrong! I let slip that I wanted to be a pirate and she laughed at me! She said I wouldn't last a day! She's just so- Ugh!" angrily she punched the now complete snowman. Taylor gasped and fell dramatically by the broken snowman's side. Wiping away a fake tear she said, "I'm going to miss you. Rest in peace Mr. Frosty…"

"Well she _is_ your mom. I bet she's just trying to make it so you don't end up doing the wrong thing. It's what moms are supposed to do." Talia said comfortingly. "It doesn't matter! I'm fed up with it! I've always dreamed about being a pirate. Seeing the world and exploring the seas. I want to leave this rock and be a pirate!"

Silence…

"You know what? That sounds like a good idea. I never liked the idea of never leaving this island. Since I was little I'd read books about great adventures and people that explore the seas. I want to see what's out there. I want to see what's just beyond the horizon. I don't care if I make it as something great or not. I want to see what this world has to offer!"

"It does sound like a good idea to just leave here," Talia started slowly. "It's so cold all the time. I don't want to be a pirate, to just take and not care whose hurt in the process. I want to protect the people who are closest to me and not just stand by and watch some two bit pirates destroy everything. I… I want to be a marine!"

They all looked at Seoyoung who had been quiet through-out the conversation. Noticing their stares she looked up. "What? I don't know what I want to be yet. Staying on this island doesn't sound so bad. Adventuring on the high seas does sound pretty fun." She sat down on the tree stump with a contemplating look on her face. "So why don't you be a marine? You fight bad guys and save the innocent!" Talia insisted. "No be a pirate and do whatever you want!" Roxy argued. "No marines!"

"No pirates!

"Marines!"

"Pirates!"

"NO! MARINES!"

"NO! PIRA-"

"SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!" Seoyoung roared startling both of them (except for Taylor who was building a tomb stone out of snow).

"I'll be what I want to be! If I want to be a marine then I'll be a marine! If I want to be a pirate then I'll be a pirate! Do I make myself clear?" Seoyoung said crossing her arms daring them to say anything. "I guess we did get a bit carried away, huh?" Talia said turning pink. "Uh yeah we did go a bit over board didn't we?" Roxy said, also a little red.

Awkward silence…

"Hey guys I want you to promise." Taylor began looking determined. "I want us all to promise to go out to sea when we're older, have adventures, and do what we want to do whether it's being a marine or a pirate. Heck just drifting would be a good way to have an adventure, even if it's a small one. Let's promise on… On Mr. Frosty so that his short life wasn't in vein." Everyone looked at her bowed head like she was crazy but grabbed each other's hands wordlessly and said at the same time "I promise."


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece only my OCs. Do you think I would be writing fan fiction if I did?**

Chapter 1

"Yay I'm finally done!" Taylor sighed with relief. It had taken all morning with the help of her friends, but she was finally done. Standing up and stretching she took a look around to make sure everything was packed that was important. Now all she needed to get was her- "Taylor are you done packing yet? We have to leave before the town wakes up remember?" with another sigh she looked back at her childhood friend. "Why couldn't you help me pack? It took us forever just getting all the stuff down here and then you disappeared before we even started." Roxy just laughed. "I was saying goodbye to my mom and making sure I didn't forget anything. Come on relax everything will be ok." Taylor shook her head. "You say that but have you ever been stuck in the middle of the ocean with no food? I haven't and wouldn't care to try it." Roxy huffed, "Fine I'll pack the rest of Talia and Seoyoungs stuff ok? Go look for them they disappeared and I couldn't find them myself." Rolling her eyes Taylor started off for town.

We had all grown up over the past few years and had changed from when we were kids so long ago. Seoyoungs hair was longer and now reached down a little past her shoulders. Otherwise she looked pretty much the same although she wears professional looking glasses now. She wears a black partially open hoodie with a white shirt underneath, black pants, and white shoes. She had grown taller since then now being at 5'5. Taylor now had hair that was a dark brown color that reached to her thighs. She usually kept it up in a high ponytail now-a-days though. She wears loose jeans, brown flip flops, and a fitting black t-shirt. She now stands happily at 5'6 and teases Seoyoung for being shorter that her. Talia looks pretty much the same with her hair, which is now a dirty blonde, is little longer and kept in a ponytail. She wears a yellow shirt with an owl design, a blue skirt, and brown boots. She's is 5'6 and the same height as Taylor. Roxy has changed a lot too. She cut her hair to be about shoulder length and wears black steampunk boots, dark navy flare jeans, a tight black shirt, and a grey hoodie.

They didn't really have to worry about the town waking up anytime soon. Last night was the towns annual summer festival. They wouldn't be up until at least one. Allow me to explain.

Long ago when settlers had first started living on the island they realized that it was cold and bitter for 90% of the year. Nothing would grow and many people died. They were all extremely confused. Where had the beautiful weather gone? When the next year came around they rejoiced at the wonderful weather once again. They then realized that the island had a cycle. Winter was cold and bitter, spring was cold and bitter, and fall was cold and bitter. Almost every month of the year was cold and bitter, except for one month in summer. That one month almost made up for all the suffering in the other months. So they decided to create a holiday of sorts. Everyone would party like kings on that day so that the next year was just as beautiful (Not really they just wanted to drink a ton and eat like pigs in good weather). The islands (Glacia) parties were so wild surrounding islands people loved to come over and party too.

Shaking myself out of my thoughts I realized I was already outside of town and at the edge of the forest. 'I have to focus on the task at hand,' I reminded myself. I can hear Seoyoung talking and it sounded like Talia sniffing so I decided to leave them be. It was expected to be sad when you're leaving the place you called home for 17 years. Heading back to town I turned down the road that led to my house.

"Thanks for listening Seoyoung." Talia sniffed. She wanted to get it out now and not hold everyone up at the docks later before they left. "Well if I didn't listen then I would have to be down there helping pack." She joked. On the inside she was sad now too she just didn't like to show it. "We better get back there before Roxy and Taylor decides to leave without us." Talia laughed. "Yeah knowing those two… Actually knowing _Roxy_ we might want to hurry."

Humming a song she learned as a child, Roxy piled in some more cargo. She wanted to blow this Popsicle stand the minute their boat was packed but she knew Taylor would want to leave the same time as everyone else. It was understandable but she wanted to leave _now_ damn it. She was itching to see what was out there but Taylor begin Taylor was holding her up. She even cleaned her room and set up a note so her mom wouldn't worry! Looking up at the sound of footsteps she turned around to see a winded Seoyoung and Talia. "Glad you guys could make it. Help me finish packing your boat ok?" Standing up and cracking her back she looked over at the town. '_Nope no sign of Taylor I wonder what's keeping her?' _ Pacing around impatiently her mind started to wander off into memories of when they were all training for this very day to come. Now she was ready. Today she would finally become a pirate. Hearing footsteps she looked up to find Taylor… Carrying something? What's she carrying? "Hey guys! I forgot to give you something. A neighbor of mine had a den den mushi that had babies so I got four of them. As a just-in-case one of you needed to call someone nearby in a hurry." She smiled opening the box she was carrying. Inside were four baby den den mushi as promised. They were all very simple with white shells and different colored bodies. They each had different hats there was a marine, a pirate, one with a fedora, and one with a floppy black sunhat.

"Aww they're so cute." Talia gushed. "Yeah they are. I want the one with the pirate hat. It's my favorite color too!" Roxy said snatching the frightened creature out of the box. "You have to be more careful with them. They're not used to it out here, or to you, so take things slow." Taylor said watching the little creature peak out of its shell. Seoyoung nodded looking up from her den den mushi (staring contest). She had the green one with a black hat, Talia obviously had the bluish-purple one with the marine hat, and Taylor had the blue one with the fedora. "So everyone good no other things needed to be done?" Roxy said in a very businesslike manner. "Everyone said goodbye and have everything they need packed? Great! I don't want to be held up anymore so tell me if you need anything else now… Nothing? Good let's go!"

"Wait Roxy don't you need to say goodbye to your mom? You didn't last night and I'm pretty sure you didn't today."

"Don't worry Talia I left a note. I cleaned up my room too so she wouldn't worry."

"Well if you say so…" Talia trailed off. She found it odd that you wouldn't say goodbye to the person who raised you for 17 years. Sure for five of those we had been training in the forest but they still said goodbye. They all cried a little when they said goodbye yesterday, even Seoyoung! Talia looked at Seoyoung who looked just as confused and curious as her strange… Did nobody here know what was going through Roxy's head at the moment? "Single file people, single file! I don't want anyone to trip of fall today ok? Today is a special day and we're going to do it right!" Roxy ordered. "You soldier," she pointed at Taylor. "I want you to row got it? Row like your life depends on it! Which it does seeing as how I rigged a shock system in the oars…"

"Wait you did wha-"shoving her into the boat Roxy yelled, "Please hold your questions till we're at sea! Once at sea you address me as Captain and you will be below me. Expect to be ordered around and or tortured humanly. Do you understand?" Taylor glared over her shoulder as she tried to get up off some uncomfortable supplies. "You do realize I could beat you in a fight? Which means if you even try to torture me in some way or try to order me around too much I could just throw you overboard."

"What? No I can't swim!" Taylor just smiled as she got into her seat. "Now get in here or I'll throw you in like you kindly did to me." Muttering under her breath Roxy climbed into the boat, as did Talia and Seoyoung. They all looked at each other as they waited for someone to break the silence. Nobody could bring themselves to say anything knowing that they wouldn't see each other for a long time. Actually they would probably be forced to act like they hated each other the next time they met. Being a pirate kind of sucked if your best friends were marines. "Well I guess this is it." Seoyoung said. "Yeah… We won't see each other for a long time. It'll be sad to know that we'll be forced to be enemies the next time we meet."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Talia asked turning to Taylor. "Well because you're a marine and I'm a pirate I just can't go up to you and give you a hug. You'd be labeled as a traitor and be thrown into Impel Down or something of that sort." Shaking her head she continued. "The next time we'd see each other you would have to do what every other marine does or do as your commander says. We all have to act like enemies to each other and fight like we mean it. Otherwise your commander will be wondering why you're not firing at another random pirate like everyone else."

"I-I guess so…" Talia sniffled. Roxy shook her head looking serious. "It's not 'I guess so' you can't guess with a thing like this. The minute you see us you have to alert the other marines around you or try to take us down yourself. I know it's hard to but you have to no matter what. Seoyoung, Taylor, and I have already made up our minds about this and have come to terms with it. There's no way around this as far as I'm concerned so you have to be strong ok?" Seeing Talia nod she smiled. "Don't worry, even if you did shoot at me seriously there's no way you can take me down. I'm pretty tough myself." Talia laughed at her friend's cocky attitude.

'They're right… I have to try my best to accept that little fact.' Talia thought sadly. "Yep we are and the best thing to do is to try." Taylor spoke up looking at Talia knowingly. "Wait did you just-"

"No more time for talking! Let's GO!" Roxy yelled pointing towards the horizon. "Ha ha ok!" Taylor began rowing as did Seoyoung. Heading in opposite directions Roxy and Talia waved to each other until they couldn't see their boats anymore. "I really hope they'll be ok." Taylor said looking over in the direction that they disappeared in. She wasn't really worried about Seoyoung so much as Talia. Talia was to sweet and kind to actually try to knock someone out or shoot a person. "Yeah I'm sure she'll be fine. Talia might not become admiral or something like that but she's smart and has a good head on her shoulders. Plus she has Seoyoung there to keep her safe."

"I guess your right… Want to play eye spy?"

"Yeah sure."

~*With Seoyoung and Talia*~

They sat in silence as their boat carried them farther and farther away from land. Neither knew what to say that would make the either feel better. As the waves rose and fell; the last of the seagulls disappearing, they each became comfortable with the silence. It felt nice to just sit there and listen to the water lap at the sides of the boat. "How long do you think it will take for Roxy and Taylor to get their first bounties?" Looking up Seoyoung saw Talia gazing at the shapes of the clouds. She thought for a minute, "How long will it take for them to get to Marinbas?"

~*At Roxy's house*~

"Roxy you need to get up you have chores to do! You also have to run out and get me some fruits and vegetables from the market! Roxy come on now, how long do you think you can stay sleeping? It's almost noon! I told you not to stay up to late." Clenching her pounding head, the mother opened her daughter's door to find her not in her bed. All of her clothes were gone and a few other possessions were as well. Fearing the worst she looked around to try to find some sort of struggle or break in. 'What could have happened to her?' she thought worriedly. Just as she was about to leave and ask her husband if he's seen her she spotted an innocent looking note on Roxy's desk. Picking it up, hoping not to find a ransom note, she was surprised to find only to find five little words.

'_I will prove you wrong.'_


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece only my OCs. Do you think I would be writing fan fiction if I did? **

**See my profile for the reasons why I am not updating as usual.**

**Remember to review please~**

Chapter 2

"Ugh I'm so bored…" Roxy sighed as she tried to think of something to do. Taylor was lost in her own thoughts so she wasn't any help either. Letting out another sigh she just tried to forget the growing boredom weighing in her mind. They had agreed to switch off rowing every hour but it was just so boring and Taylor wouldn't even talk to her. She was perfectly content with amusing herself with her own thoughts while leaving her captain to suffer. Looking over to glare at her first mate she felt tempted to whack her in the head with an oar. Roxy shook her head clear of those thoughts. '_No if I whack her to hard then she'll go flying into the ocean and I'll have no one to talk to until I get to Marinbas.' _She did however kick her in the shin. "Ouch what was that for?" Taylor yelped more at the surprise of the kick rather than the pain. "You were ignoring me and I was bored." Roxy said sticking her tongue out at her comrade. "That doesn't matter you could have just poked my shoulder or something. Is this because I didn't give you a muffin? Look I know it was your favorite flavor but it was my last one…"

"What? No I didn't kick you over a muffin. I have one in my backpack so it's fine."

"Wait why did you kick me then?"

"Well because… I did it because I wanted to ok?"

"What? That's totally unfair! If you pissed me off do you think I would knock you out? No!"

"No you would get revenge by pelting me with acorns or ambushing me with snowballs the next morning." Roxy accused. Taylor smiled "Guilty, but if I didn't get revenge then you would walk all over me; you would keep punching or kicking me so its self-defense." Roxy rolled her eyes at her friend's childish explanation but stopped when her smile grew. "What are you smirking about? Stop it; it makes me feel like you're up to something…"

"It's because I know your weakness…" Taylor said mysteriously waving her hands in said fashion. "And what, might I ask, is my weakness?" Roxy asked incredulously. "Oh nothing really… I just know how to push your buttons to my advantage…" Taylor said shrugging. "That and you can't swim but everyone knows that. It's no fun if everyone knows about it." Roxy rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the ocean. Taylor noted with a frown that her friend seemed to be doing that a lot. '_Hmm… I wonder what's bugging her. Am I doing something stupid in her opinion? I can't tell for sure because if I try to call her on it she just makes an excuse or something weird happens. But if I successfully call her on it she may make a big deal out of it to try to cause an argument. Meh… I'm just thinking about this too much…' _And with that she continued on happily through her odd and extremely random thoughts. _'What the hell? She hasn't even asked once about me rolling my eyes or even questioned it! I thought it was really noticeable but apparently not… No she isn't like that… Unless something really bothered her or she was bored herself she usually wouldn't say anything. Why am I even trying to start arguments in the first place? Wait I'm not even trying to start an argument I just want a conversation! My own thoughts are betraying me now! Why can't we just have funny, odd, and questionable conversations like we always do?' _Roxy, lost in her ever darkening thoughts, didn't notice when Taylor suddenly looked up in frozen horror. She did notice when Taylor clamped a trembling hand to her mouth. Shooting her a questioning look Taylor pressed a finger to her lips and silently pointed to the right of their boat. Looking over expecting to see the Marines or some kind of prank, she didn't expect to see the massive body of a horrifyingly gigantic Sea King. Freezing with her mouth open, screaming in silent terror, they both watched as the massive creature let out a huge yawn. It didn't even notice that it had an audience and probably never would. We only realized this later but even if it had been looking in our direction it wouldn't even really see us; in our tiny boat we were only a speck in comparison to the Monstrous beast and it wouldn't even care if it did spot us. It would assume we were a clump of seaweed or something just as insignificant and unappetizing. Just as quickly as it surfaced it began to descend into the dark depths of the ocean that it called its home (the wave it caused nearly capsized us).

After that we just sat in a stunned silence, not able to say or describe what just happened or how. Throughout the fear-inducing scene we just witnessed neither of us really knew what happened, and neither of us could actually think properly enough to try to decide what happened. It was like our brains had seen a traumatic event and they had to forget it to try to cope. All in all it really wasn't as bad as we described but it felt that way. Coming from a small island in the north blue we had rarely seen Sea Kings and they never really came near Glacia because the water was usually icy and full of slush. Actually just hearing a story about one was rare enough. When we were all little kids, sailors who visited during the warm month would tell us stories about the open sea and all the hardships and wonders that were on the waters. Thinking back on it now… Maybe that's what made Roxy want to become a pirate. The stories always gave us dreams about the grand line and exploring all the blues (though truthfully they gave quite a few nightmares). No matter how gruesome the story or how enjoyable it was to hear no one was prepared for the real thing. No amount of prepping or reading up on old log books could ever prepare you for experiencing what was truly out there on the high seas.

Those thoughts aside… I think Roxy just passed out… "Roxy are you ok? Roxy it's time to get up like normal people." Taylor said shaking her shoulder but she wouldn't move. Checking her pulse she found a steady heartbeat. Taylor sighed "you really just wanted to get out of rowing didn't you?" moving her unconscious friend she sat down and began rowing not knowing when Roxy was going to wake up or when they would get to the island of Marinbas.

_Inside of Roxy's mind_

"Huh where am I and why is it so dark?" Muttering to herself she tried to find out where she was and how she could leave, suddenly there was a blindingly bright spotlight on her. "Ahh! What the heck?" rubbing her eyes to try to make the spots disappear a voice suddenly rang, "you there! Get up and quit being lazy you have junk to do! Why do I get all the lazy ones?" Roxy looked up confused. "What do you mean I have stuff to do? Where am I anyway?" The voice snorted, "you have to do what I tell you of course because… Because you're my underling! As for where you are you're in the world in which I rule: Dittsinn! Now get a move on or you'll be late for your first assignment. Also change out of those horrible clothes they're completely out of fashion and distasteful." Roxy just laughed. "Yeah right and pixies will sing me a bedtime story. As if I would ever follow some uptight guy like you. Now tell me how to get out of this place or I'll have to beat it out of you."

"What? How dare you talk to a superior like that, as if you could harm the great and powerful me," The voice scoffed and despite Roxy's protests continued, "Which is why I'm being as generous as to offer you a position as my underling. Think about it with the proper training you'll be the next in line for the position as the ultimate ruler of Dittsinn. If you don't accept however I'll have to kill you." The voice finished in a cheerful tone. "What the hell? How can you be so cheerful when you tell someone your about to kill them, and why would you kill me in the first place? What have I ever done to you that would make you want to take my life?" There was a long pause before the voice answered back. "Why? Why would I kill you…? I-I can't remember why… Why am I here? What did I do to end up like this… this monster? What could have made me into this vile beast? W-was it you? Did you cause me to end up like this? No it wasn't you… It was that fruit… That devil fruit! It caused me to be like this! Why did I eat it? Why did I have to be so stupid and eat that accursed fruit when everyone told me not to? Why?!" The voice had changed. It used to be a grown woman's voice but now it was almost childlike. "What the heck is going on?" Roxy shouted the thing was really starting to freak her out a little. The scene changed, she was no longer standing in complete darkness but in a familiar looking clearing. In the middle there was a tree stump and three people. One was hunched over and Roxy couldn't see her face, while the other was… Taylor? She looked younger than she was now… maybe thirteen or fourteen. Her expression was that of concern while looking over the hunched figure. And the other was Seoyoung? She looked worried too… Why are they both here and why are they so young? The hunched figure appeared to be wearing a cloak with a hood covering its face. "You just have to focus a little. Try to relax and take control of it. If you don't then you'll just stay like this. Panicking won't help your situation." Taylor said sternly.

"But it hurts… It doesn't feel right and everything seems hazy." The hunched over figure whimpered. "We know it does but you just have to relax and control it. It'll hurt more if you try to force it." Seoyoung said trying to relax the hunched figure. "Seoyoung's right you have to relax and try to stay calm. My power might not be the same but they all pretty much have the basic steps. Relax and find your center." After a few moments the hunched figures breathing slowed down and became calm and steady. Slowly she stood up and the hood fell off. Roxy gasped as she stared at her past self. _'Now I remember… That was the day I…'_

_In the real world_

"Huh I wonder when she'll wake up. It would suck if she went into a coma or died on me." Taylor said stretching her sore muscles. It had been a few hours and they would be arriving at Marinbas in a couple more. _'Ugh I'm so tired of rowing… My arms feel like they're about to fall off.'_ She thought with a sigh. Really all she wanted was for Roxy to wake up so they could switch off-

"Aaaah!" Roxy gasped sitting bolt upright and nearly falling out of the boat. Taylor looked at her startled, "what's wrong did you have a bad dream?" Panting Roxy gave her a wide eyed look before letting out a sigh of relief. "No I was just remembering something…" Taylor raised an eyebrow but let it go. "Alright strange memories aside it's time to switch off for rowing my arms hurt like you wouldn't believe." Roxy rolled her eyes. "How long have you been rowing? Five minutes?" Taylor smiled, "well seeing as how you were trapped in your own personal wonderland it might have seemed like five minutes but it's been three hours. Maybe you should install a clock in your mind to tell you when it's time to face reality or when you can stay in wonderland a little longer."

"Ha ha very funny… Three hours? I was out that long? That means we'll be in Marinbas in a little bit at least that's what the map says." Taylor nodded and they switched places. "Row faster slave we'll be at Marinbas in a few minutes if you row fast enough."

"What do you think Marinbas will be like?"

"It'll probably be full of unicorns and rainbows. It'll rain jellybeans every day and the streets will be lined with gold. From what I heard the people named the island Marinbas because they assumed pirates would be smart enough to stay away from it. They didn't realize that most pirates are idiots and it doesn't matter if the name sounds like marine base or that the houses are painted green, blue, and white. Over time the people got used to pirates and travelers and are less likely to come at us wielding torches and pitchforks." Roxy laughed, "rainbows and unicorns huh? That sounds like a fun place to be. Do you know if any marine bases are really on the island?" Taylor thought for a moment before shaking her head. Roxy sighed with relief. "Before we fight marines I want to at least find a better boat one that you don't have to row. After that we'll head to the next island and hopefully by then… Hey are you listening?" Her reply was a few random mumbled words. Glaring over at her now sleeping friend she sighed. _'Well I did the same thing to her so I guess this is payback. She could've just told me she was going to fall asleep, but then that wouldn't be revenge would it?'_ Shaking her head she focused back on rowing.

_Inside Taylor's mind_

Silence. Absolute and total silence. All she asked for was a totally cool dream or nightmare not a pitch black room. Sighing in frustration she shouted, "Oh come on! Roxy gets a really weird dream but I don't even get a vortex of doom or a star or something? Even a rubber duck is better than this!" Suddenly a giant rubber duck fell into the room causing a mini earthquake and Taylor to fall over. "Ugh… Wait that means I should get a star and a vortex of doom!" Standing up excitedly and looking around, she noticed a small ball of light coming towards her. A small star about the size of the palm of her hand stopped in front of her and floated a good foot above the floor. It shone a light blue color and shone as brightly as a star its size could. Putting her hand under it she could feel the heat coming off the little thing in comforting waves. "It… It's so beautiful…" It was like holding a tiny life in her hands, and upon saying that the small fireball shone brighter and grew warmer. Taylor smiled but it quickly turned into a frown. The star was growing brighter and brighter to the point of blinding but she couldn't let go. The light seemed to be retreating back into the star before it began to collapse. Taylor gasped as she witnessed the sad and beautiful ending of the little star. Within minutes the star had fully collapsed and what was left in its place was a…

Vortex of Doom. "Wow that's so cool! I wonder what I can do with it…" She thought for a minute before remembering the giant rubber duck. Smiling deviously she threw the vortex at the duck. The moment the vortex touched rubber all hell broke loose. With the force akin to an explosion, the wind whipped around the dark room tearing at Taylor's clothes and hair. Taylor watched wide eyed as the duck distorted and shrunk at an alarming rate. With a yelp she realized that it was trying to suck her in too. Scrambling to get away from the thing she lost her footing and began hurtling into the cold malicious darkness. "Damn you Vortex of Doom!" She cried as she was stretched and distorted in the same way as the duck. Gasping she desperately clawed at her throat trying to breathe. _'Air…' _she thought helplessly. _'I need air… Going to… to…" _Then something strange happened. The scene changed and she was on her knees, some ones hands were around her throat. Gasping for air she opened her eyes to see… No it couldn't be…!

"…lor."

'_Who's calling me? Where am I?'_

"…aylor!"

'_No I want to see who it was… I want to make sure. Please… Please whoever you are let me sleep!'_

"Taylor! Your books were destroyed in a fire! Your muffins were eaten by a monster! Just get up god damn it!" Taylor sat bolt upright and cried, "wuzzamadder?" Nearly toppling out of the boat, Roxy laughed at her friend's actions "I'm glad you're awake. It took forever to get you up I mean seriously. I could have dropped a brick on you and you wouldn't have moved an inch." After shaking her head her look changed to that of worry. "You were yelling in your sleep and it really freaked me out. For a moment I thought you would be choking, but then you sort of calmed down after that. Did you have a bad dream? Oh and your drooling." She added a slight smile on her face. Taylor quickly wiped her face and muttered "It's not important and no I wasn't drooling…" Roxy laughed at her denial saying, "well it doesn't matter if you were drooling or not because we finally made it to the wonderful island of Marinbas, where gold lined streets and unicorns await you!" Taylor rolled her eyes while Roxy just shrugged and giggled merrily. Jumping out of the boat onto dry land Taylor and Roxy took in their surroundings. "Alright from the research that you did we know that town is in the middle of the island so I guess we just go straight ahead." Taylor nodded. Before they had a chance to carry out their plan however a tall burly figure appeared.

Stomping over to the two young women he stopped when he was right in front of them. The man could easily tower over them and had a menacing look on his face. "Would you two happen to be pirates?" He growled out causing the two to jump. "Uh that d-depends." Taylor stuttered. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't stop trembling slightly. It made her feel weak at how easily this person could frighten her but damn it, he was scary. Actually he reminded her vaguely of something they'd seen before… What was it…? "Yes we are pirates. Is there a problem with that?" Roxy said looking up at the man. Taylor gawked at her usually shy friend. _'Roxy you're going to get us killed! How could you? You promised that you wouldn't die before you made a great pirate!'_ However Roxy seemed to be unaware of her friends pleading thoughts as she continued to have a staring contest with the man before her. Unblinking the man stated, "Then I'm afraid you'll have to come with me."


End file.
